EXCLUSIVE: Sue Ramirez On Her Movie "Finding Agnes" And Her Love For Everything Korean
On her Metro Chats x Kumu's FYE Channel guesting, she talked about her experiences filming in Morocco, her Korean faves, and her sources of happiness these days
"Home" is Metro Chats guest Sue Ramirez's keyword for 2020.
It means many things to her—she's a self-proclaimed homebody, she loves to decorate her personal spaces (in maximalist style, no less), and this year, she dove deep into her mind and her heart, her spiritual "homes," in order to learn more about herself.
In an exclusive interview on Kumu's FYE Channel, Metro Chats guest Sue Ramirez gets real about the ups and downs of this year, but ultimately says that 2020 has been more good than bad.
The last months' highlights definitely include her relationship, her upcoming film Finding Agnes (which will soon be available for streaming on Netflix, globally!), all her memories of her travels, and her limitless love for everything Korean.
Check out what Metro Chats Sue Ramirez had to say in our conversation with her below:
sue ramirez on metro chats
sue ramirez on metro chats
Work, work, work
Sue has been hard at work these days, much more than the average person. She finished working on a new ABS-CBN teleserye, and she goes back to work for a new project this Sunday! Working during a pandemic wasn't the best or most ideal thing for her, however, given all the health protocols and need to be extra conscious about keeping yourself (and others) safe. Regardless, Sue isn't complaining; it's all definitely been an experience to remember and it has taught her so many things she would have otherwise never learned.
Travel experiences
She misses the beach the most. "I feel like I'm incomplete when I haven't been to the beach in a long time!" she says. It's great then that she's actually had the time to go out of town and feed the inner beach girl with her with some Vitamin Sea. She headed over to soak in sea and sun with her boyfriend and it was the best city living/lockdown break she could ask for. Pre-pandemic, Sue was actually in a much more exotic location: Marrakesh, Morocco! She was there for work for two weeks, and it was her first visit. "I'll be back after all of this," she says, because the visit left only good memories with her. (The fact that locals are extremely hospitable towards Filipino visitors helped!).
On "Finding Agnes"
She was in the African city to film "Finding Agnes," where she plays the lead role alongside Jelson Bay. According to Sue, she helps Jelson's character find his long lost mother, albeit figuratively, by accompanying him to the places she's been to and speaking to the people she knew. "It's a family film. It's a very heartwarming film," Sue shares. It was the script that got Sue to agree to the project that would give her yet another opportunity to stay true to her mission as an actress: portray characters with different stories each and every time. This time, she's a Moroccan-Filipino woman who manages a B&B. To prepare for the role, Sue had to learn about Moroccan culture and even learn to deliver a few lines in Arabic.
Moroccan finds
Morocco wasn't all work for Sue, of course. There was no way she would have missed a trip to the Medina (a massive street market with food, shopping, animal charmers, and so much more). "There's just so many things there to buy there, and experience," Sue recalls. They also saw the Jardin Majorelle, a magical botanical garden and a place that inspired the luxury brand YSL, and all the other pockets of beautiful architecture the city has to offer. Sue gushes over Moroccan pastries, too, citing how some of their baked goods deliciously combine French flavors and styles as a testament to their cultural history.
Tapping a global audience
"Finding Agnes" is going to be on Netflix (globally), which means it's going to be accessible to a massive audience in and outside the Philippines. "I am so, so, so nervous but at the same time very, very honored kasi for our movie to be streaming all over the world and on Netflix, it makes me feel like the long travel and the hard work really pay off," Sue says. She's extremely excited about getting people to experience Morocco through their film, her character, and the story. She cried when she found out that Netflix had picked it up (who wouldn't?)! It's even more meaningful for Sue to finally be getting to promote "Finding Agnes," given that the film was shot quite a while back, more than two years ago.
What to binge-watch
Speaking of Netflix, she's huge on K-Dramas too! Her recent favorites are "It's Okay to Not Be Okay" and "Start-Up" but her all-time favorite as of today is "Itaewon Class." She's all praise for Korean talent onscreen and storytelling; there's something about the way they take slice-of-life subject matters and spin them into series that touch hearts, no matter where you are in the world. (Park Seo-joon and Bae Suzy are her ultimate K-idols, in case you were wondering!). When it comes to Hollywood-made content, she'll always suggest "F.R.I.E.N.D.S.," "Brooklyn 99," and for newer titles, "The Queen's Gambit."
Meeting Lee Dong-wook
Sue remembers that time she met Lee Dong-wook and how hard it was not to lose her cool when she was face to face with the Korean superstar. Sue is an Honorary Ambassador for Korean Tourism, in case you didn't know, so she had to be extra professional when she was with him onstage for an event. "Naparamdaman talaga natin sa kanya 'yung mainit na pag-welcome sa kanya ng mga Pinoy," she smiles. She smiles even wider at the memory of her shaking his hand.
Memories of South Korea
Sue also has even more memories of Korea, thanks to a visit to the country itself. She traveled to South Korea with Metro Channel host Pia Wurtzbach for a "Pia's Postcards" episode. And if there's anything that Sue advises when you visit this destination, it's that to prepare your stretchy pants because authentic Korean food is delicious. There's no way you can go wrong no matter what café, restaurant, snack bar, or dessert shop you enter. The cultural and historical sites are a must-visit, too—things she learned about previously when she was actually in South Korea for a month, in the wintertime, for her film "Sunshine Family." She's gone to Seoul, Incheon, Busan, and next, she hopes to see Jeju Island, Lotte World, and Everland!
All things beauty
Still on her love for everything Korean, Sue goes on to talk about her skincare and her number one tip for glowing skin isn't any product you'll find in beauty stores—it's to drink a ton of water! Water, moisturize, and if you can, consult with the experts before trying out beauty products that target specific skin concerns lest we unintentionally make them worse. As for her hair, she's much more experimental. "Usually I color my hair after a role. It gives me a sense of self, like getting back to being Sue again after portraying a role," she explains. It's part of her process as an actress who has to let go of a character after the last scene is filmed—or she could actually just be plain bored and longing for a change.
Source of happiness
There's a bunch of things making Sue happy these days, overall. Simple things like online shopping orders finally arriving, spending unlimited time with her pets and bigger things like having work, nieces and nephews, and her boyfriend, Javi Benitez, are all part of the mix. Speaking of Javi, she says that what she loves most about him are him being smart, his willingness to compromise, his consistency and acceptance of her, and how he generally makes her feel—wanted, respected, and paid attention to. "I'm very, very happy to have met Javi before all of this happened... Kung wala, hindi ko na alam kung ano nang nangyari sa akin talaga," she says.
Being at home
She would've finished decorating and remodeling her own house but then the pandemic got in the way. She's a self-proclaimed maximalist and she can't wait to get back to designing her own space. She's a homebody, after all, much to everyone's surprise. If it's a choice between going out and staying home, she'd much rather have her personal time. That definitely helped her manage quarantine, and it was much easier to "enjoy" her extended stay at home more than, say, more extroverted and outgoing individuals.
What 2020 made her realize
"Home" is what best describes the year Sue has had. "It gave us a chance to get to know ourselves more, how strong and brave we really are for getting through everything that happened this year," Sue shares. "Nakaka-believe ang tao because they're always adapting to the changes all around," she adds. As for the biggest lesson she's taking away from 2020, she says it's the realization that change can be lightning-quick and the only we can do about that is to accept and adapt: don't only live your life to the fullest, but love it to the fullest. "Hindi tayo sigurado sa bukas, so we have to live every day as if it were our last... Tomorrow is never promised," Sue reflects.
Looking forward to 2021
Looking towards the future, 2021 will hopefully be a year for traveling for Sue. But more than that, for everyone, she hopes that everything will calm down—not necessarily return to "normal," because she certainly believes that this time in our collective history was meant to teach us lifelong lessons. Korea, Japan, and the US are all on her travel bucket list.
Finding Agnes will premiere on Netflix on November 30.
Photos from @sueannadoodles
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